Hallelujah! Amen. Let's turn to Ephesians this morning, Chapter 6, verse 10. "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might." Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. As we are coming into this hour, we don't want to be trusting in our own strength, do we? Yet it is so natural. It's in all of us. We have that tendency to trust in ourselves. We want to be in control. We do not only want to be able to understand all the "whys" and the reasons, but it's a very difficult thing for us to trust God. Most of us don't like to admit that. It is a very difficult thing to trust God, isn't it? Do you find it hard? Do you find it hard to make every decision based upon His promises, to make every decision and to live every day by faith? That's what it means to trust God. Do we trust our own wisdom? Do we trust our own accomplishments of the past? Do we trust our education? Do we trust our physical abilities? Do we trust our networking systems that we set up, or do we trust God? Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. As this hour is coming on us in a day that men have never known, iniquity shall abound. Guess what? That means tomorrow is going to be worse than it was today. How many of you think it's bad today? It is going to be worse tomorrow. Iniquity will continue to abound.
As we war against principalities and against powers, we are not going to be able to trust in ourselves. You remember that David went into the camp of Israel as a young man. All of Israel was cowering down, and David was astonished at the hearts of the people that had melted before their enemies. He said, "What's wrong with everybody? Have you forgotten who our God is?" That spirit that's in men like Joshua, Caleb, and David there's another spirit in those kind of people, isn't there? "What's wrong with all of you people?" It's not our ability. It's God in the camp. Amen? If God is for us, who can be against us? But if we don't live our lives in that way, if we begin to trust in ourselves, we'll begin to be fearful just like everybody else around us. We're fearful. We're dismayed by the corruption and the vileness of this crooked and perverse generation that we live in...
Prayer Warriors, Part 2
March 24, 2013 • Pastor Star R. Scott
Amen! Hallelujah! Let's turn to James. I don't know about you, but I love studying and reading and teaching about prayer. And I hate it. It always reveals how much more I need to improve; and so often, we seem to think that some of these men that have done these great exploits for God were somehow supermen, different than you and me; but, of course, the Scriptures reveals another truth about that, doesn't it? And as we read here in James, Chapter 5, the Scripture speaks. Says in verse 13, "Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. [Elijah] was a man subject to like passions as we are" These were not supermen. Subject to like passions as we are, "and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by a space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, "now, he had prayed in between these two events, but he prayed again, "and the heavens gave rain, the earth brought forth her fruit. Brethren, if any of you do ere from the truth, and one convert him; let him know, that he which [has converted] the sinner from the errors of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins."
As James is speaking here and he's encouraging us in some of these covenant promises, the passages that we're very familiar with out of James that speaks of the effectual fervent praying, and in the context of that, he talks about Elijah. Elijah, a man subject to like passions as we are. The one thing that's obvious about a great prayer life and a great life of power and faith is you're not on a hundred percent of the time; amen?...
Prayer Warriors, Part 3
March 24, 2013 • Pastor Star R. Scott
Hallelujah! Amen. Let's turn to James and see if we can continue along where we were Sunday and just listen to what the Holy Spirit has to say to us. Father, we do come and we just ask that You would speak clearly to us this evening. Give each of us, Father, hearts to hear. Father, I ask that even now each one of us would just consciously bring our minds into subjection from the busy day that we've had and put it all aside because You deserve our attention. Cause us to focus upon You and Your greatness at this moment and rejoice in the love that You've shown us. Prepare us for the task that's ahead, Father, for that that You've called us to, that we'd look not with weariness or in any way fearful of what might lie ahead, but with an expectation and a joy for the privilege of Your call. For You have called us and You have ordained us to go and to bring fruit forth and You said that fruit would remain. For that we give You all the praise and all of the glory, Father, in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.
As we were looking Sunday, of course, at that very familiar passage in James, Chapter 5, we took a little bit of time and talked about the great prophet Elijah. We saw that he was a man subject to like passions as we are. We can identify with that aspect of his life, but the Lord doesn't want us to just identify with his defeat and his depression, but with his victory on the mountain. Amen? He's declared that these signs shall follow them that believe in His name; they shall? When the Lord speaks that "they shall" it doesn't leave any room for questioning, does it? In our minds or in the enemy's. I want you to know something. There is nothing that Satan wants to war against more than a good prayer life. I can't remember who it was, but he said, "If you want to humble a man, just ask him about his prayer life." And that goes primarily for a lot of preachers. But the Scripture says, "http://...men ought always to pray [Amen?], and not to faint" (Luke 18:1)...
Prayer Warriors, Part 4
March 31, 2013 • Pastor Star R. Scott
We're a blessed people to have come to that knowledge, amen? Not everybody knows it. I was out yesterday. I had an opportunity to minister to a number of different people out on the street. As I was talking to this man and his son, the son was probably in his thirties. Just sharing the gospel. The young man began to share his perspective. I just patiently listened to him as he just shared that his perception that there's just one God, and it's the same God for the Hindus and for the Muslims and that he, himself, was a Christian, however. But he believed that Christianity needed to be a little more acceptable of the other religions. He was saying that in just a very matter of fact way. I won't belabor the point, but as we talked, I let him say all that he had to say. When he was finished, I just shared with him. I said, "Well, you know, isn't the real issue what is going to be celebrated tomorrow? (Easter.) Don't you believe if God Himself truly came down in the flesh and walked among us in a sinless life and took our sins upon Himself to redeem the world and was buried and rose again" I said, "If Jesus is risen from the dead, don't you think that probably answers this issue?" He looked at me for just a moment. I said, "Do you know of any other religions that teach resurrection and the power of God to raise the dead?" He was like, "Well, no. Now that you say it." I said, "And if He is risen, then shouldn't we listen to what He says about Himself? He said, "I am the resurrection, and the life" and "He that believeth on me shall never die." Shouldn't we believe what the Scriptures say about Him that He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me"? Shouldn't we realize that the thing that you're saying should be taking place, Jesus spoke to actually in the total opposite? He is not a god, and we do not serve in a kingdom of tolerance." He snickered a little bit and said, "Yeah, I guess so, when you put it that way."
It's great just to let Jesus speak for Himself, amen? The tomb is empty. He is raised. He has ascended to the right hand of God the Father, and He ever lives to make intercession for us. So we rejoice in that. That's one of the great things, really, of Easter Sunday: not only that the tomb is empty, but that the throne is full. He has ascended back to the right hand of God, and He said, "If I go back to My Father, I will send you the Holy Ghost, a Comforter. And He will dwell in you, and He will bring all things that I have said to your remembrance." Do you want to know why that's such a big deal? Because as the Holy Spirit brings all things to our remembrance, that's where our ability to pray the will of God comes from. We know that it's the will of God because it was lived out in the life of Jesus...
Prayer Warriors, Part 5
April 3, 2013 • Pastor Star R. Scott
Hallelujah! Amen! Let’s go ahead and open up this evening. We want to continue along the lines of—I don’t even know what we entitled this teaching; but we just want to look a little more at how vital it is, in this hour, for us to continue to develop our prayer lives. “…Men ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1). Amen? As we were seeing in Ephesians, that is our weaponry. We’re coming into a battle in this hour, and the reality is this: if we don’t put ourselves in the armour of God, we will fall. Period! In our own strength we are no match for principalities and powers. The deception that is coming in this last day will overtake you; it will completely, in its attack on your spirit and your mind, bring you into a place of dis-ease, dis-unity and then ultimately destruction. We want to talk about that and encourage ourselves. We’ll talk about the weaponry a little later on, but now we’re just stirring our hearts up in this great need.
I was reading a quote from D. L. Moody and he said, “I already know there will be two things that I regret when I stand before the throne of God: that I didn’t account for more souls won and that I didn’t spend enough time in prayer.” That’s very interesting. Spurgeon, the prince of preachers, said, “I would much rather have one man of prayer than ten preachers.” We know that in the tabernacle in London—I can’t remember the amount right now, but, as this great orator spoke, below the pulpit were gathered ten, twenty people who were praying the entire time that he was preaching...
Prayer Warriors, Part 6
April 7, 2013 • Pastor Star R. Scott
We were talking out of Ephesians, of course, of the need to put on the full armor of God, taking the Sword of the Spirit and praying. We were talking about that spiritual weaponry that’s needed in this hour. So many people are looking to the arm of the flesh; so many, of course, in ministry, Christendom, today that are working off of demographics, that are really trying to appease and tickle the ears of society that they might be able to win some—the exact opposite, of course, of what the Scripture says. The gospel is the power of God to salvation. Amen? So when we believe that and we go out and just bring the simplicity of the gospel, we’re going to see a harvest that will last. He said, “I’ve ordained you that you will go and bring forth fruit, and that fruit will remain” (John 15:16), praise God. So we’re looking to see some fruit that remains. “Of those, Father, that You’ve given Me, [Jesus said] I’ve lost none” (John 17:12).
I was trying to encourage some yesterday. I met—for the first time in years, I got with [a pastor I used to be closely associated with], and it was just so good to see him and just encourage him on in the call that Father has put on his life and that we can’t be weary in well doing—amen?—because we will reap if we don’t faint, praise God. The day we’re going into, it could be easy to faint. It’s a very, very difficult hour for serving in this kingdom, and it’s going to become harder as iniquity abounds, as we see the love of many waxing cold—and as that old, old gospel song we just sang, “The cross before me and the world behind me.”...
Prayer Warriors, Part 7
April 10, 2013 • Pastor Star R. Scott
Amen! Thank You, Jesus! I want to share a couple of other practical things, just as we're getting ready here this evening, as I made a couple of the comments about the gifts of the Spirit. One of the things, of course referring to, it's very obvious that Ron has been giving a number of utterances through the services here. The one thing you can't do is think, "Well, if a pastor is being used here, then let's let him do it." The utterances have been from the Lord, etc., but that doesn't stop you from seeking God and being used; amen? There's that tendency that, "If somebody else is doing it, they're probably better than I am." There is no "better." There's obedience. If God's speaking to you, be used. Seek to be used. Pray to be used in these particular areas. There is of the ministry of definitely calling for the elders and being anointed with oil, but there's also the admonition for us to see in the body the working of miracles (amen?), the gifts of healings; praise God! "These signs shall follow them that believe." We can become pretty apathetic and we can sit back and say, "Well, here's somebody who does it better than I do." That's not the admonition from the Scriptures: seek, pray for, long after spiritual gifts (amen?), covet them, the Scripture says. So make that your prayer. Say, "Lord, I want to be used. I'm here and I want to bring edification to the body." The problem with the early church was they were bringing edification, but they were also bringing glorification to themselves. That's why Paul had to bring some of the reproof and the rebuke that we read in 1 Corinthians 12 and 14. We just want to admonish you in those areas not to lose sight of the body ministry. If we're going to see the full extent of the visitation that God wants to bring us, it's going to be through the body, your responsibility to pray, your responsibility to be obedient and respond to the needs of the body. It's like, "Well, that's scary." Yes it is. It's very scary at times. How many of you are very familiar with the "Holy Ghost heart palpitations"? There are times that stepping out of the boat is scary. So be obedient. Don't be afraid. The Lord will confirm with signs following; amen? That's the admonition to us, so we want to encourage you to move in that way...
Prayer Warriors, Part 8
April 14, 2013 • Pastor Star R. Scott
Let's go back. I don't know if we're going to be unplugging here soon in the prayer series, but I want to remind us of the great privilege that we have of accessing the throne of God, the Holy of Holies. Because of that blood of Jesus, we can enter in boldly. Amen?
He says, "Come. Those that seek will find. Those that ask shall receive, and for those that knock it shall be opened unto them." He has encouraged us that we ought always to pray, and then He goes on to say we are not to faint. As we are praying and believing God, we often have that tendency to faint, don't we? Many times, we do not own up to the absolute doubt or discouragement. We just stop praying about it. "Men ought to always to pray, and not to faint" (Luke 18:1).
Continue to believe God and rejoice. We told you the story about George Müller. He prayed for 62 years and four months, or it was something like that, for those individuals, and he was not fainting. How many of you have been praying for specific things for over 30 years? Hold up your hands. Some of us aren't that old. I rejoice that my grandmother was saved at 100, praise God! Amen? For all those years, we faithfully continued to speak the Word of God to her every time we saw her, and we lived the life before her. She knew "Bobby" as a little boy, and she saw the transformation in my life. For all of those years, she wouldn't bow her knee, but God in His mercy drew her. To see her born again at that age was tremendous. My mother was in her eighties when she finally bowed her knee to accept the Lord as Savior. One hundred years old and 80 years old, That takes a lot of praying. Amen? Don't faint, praise God! My brother is still to come. I believe for the salvation of my brother. I believe God. The Lord is merciful, and He is not willing that any would perish. Amen? We didn't faint in praying for my grandmother. We did not faint in praying for my mother, and we are not going to faint in praying for my brother, praise God!...
Prayer Warriors, Part 9
April 17, 2013 • Pastor Star R. Scott
Let's turn to Mark 11 tonight, a passage that we're all very familiar with. Mark 11:22, Jesus is speaking to His disciples, and He said unto them, "Have faith in God." "Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses."
I'm not going to spend a lot of time teaching on this aspect tonight, but I can't let the teaching on prayer go by without at least addressing this one point. Your prayer life is in vain if you have unforgiveness. You might as well not bother. "…And when ye stand praying, forgive…" Amen? So we realize, then, that one of the aspects of prayer is practicing the presence of God, "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you" (John 15:7). We realize that it is all relational. "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (James 5:16). So we understand redemption and our right standing with God, all of these things that are necessary if we're going to effectively have communion with Father in all of His holiness.
So one of the first things I would suggest to anybody whose prayer life seems ineffectual is to check your heart for unforgiveness and find out whether or not there are any areas in there that would represent anything other than the heart of Jesus. The heart of Jesus always prays this way: when they are mocking you, when they are crucifying you, when they are spitting upon you, our prayer is, "Father, forgive them." Amen? If we can't pray that prayer then none of our other prayers are worth very much. Because we have to pray, as the Scripture says, (and we've spend a lot of time going over it) we have to pray, for our prayers to be effectual, according to the will of God. It is the will of God that we forgive, because if we don't forgive, we can't be forgiven...
Prayer Warriors, Part 10
April 21, 2013 • Pastor Star R. Scott
Let's turn to Ephesians and see where we can go some this morning. In Ephesians, a couple of different aspects as it pertains to the armor of God in Chapter 6. I want to talk a little bit about the need for us to put that armor on, to not only pray for ourselves in this warfare that we're engaged in here in this world, and how many of you realize it's getting worse by the day? Iniquity is abounding, and the perversion that's in the world is affecting the church. We may not like to admit it, but we are vexed daily, like Righteous Lot. I believe that all of us would admit at least to some desensitizing of our spirit man and our souls, some more than others. And beloved, we need to do everything necessary to stand, amen? There are no guarantees that we're going to finish this course, and we need to take that very seriously.
Keep your finger here in Ephesians, but since we were talking about it, turn to 1 Corinthians, Chapter 9. I think we're in a place where many of us are too casual with sin. If we haven't committed it, we flirt with it. We make it so readily available in our lives. Tragically, things that used to be sin to us are now just preferences, matters of choice, disputable matters. And it used to be sin. How desensitized have we become, and how concerned do we need to be about that vexing of our souls?
This should become a major part of our prayer lives: "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." Is that a prayer that's paramount in your lives? "Teach us to pray." He said, "Pray this way. Believe God. Pray and ask for deliverance from evil." The Greek there implies to us "the workings of the evil one." Let's say it another way: "Pray that Satan would have no recourse or place in your life." When spoken about Jesus, it says that Satan had what? Nothing in Him. He couldn't hold Him. There was nothing he could get ahold of. Where are the things in our lives that Satan can get ahold of us? See, all he needs is just to get ahold of you and slow you down for a minute, to get your attention...
Prayer Warriors, Part 11
April 24, 2013 • Pastor Star R. Scott
Let's go back to Ephesians for just a moment. On Sunday morning we really didn't get into the teaching as much as we just had an exposition on a number of different topics. I believe that the Holy Spirit really spoke to us Sunday morning and hopefully those of us who had ears to hear were able to hear. I don't believe I could go back and share with you much of what was said, I'd have to listen to the tape to really think of it; but one of the things I do remember is the real admonition for us as a body and as family units was to pray for one another in this time of battle. Rather than warring with one another, being critical of one another, and competing with one another, we need to realize the need of truly loving one another to where we would spend time in intercession. We talked about those who would transgress against us, about spouses and about how there's conflict in relationship. We saw that the scripture made it very clear that when we stand praying, one of the first things to make our prayers effectual is what? "When we stand praying, forgive" (Mark 11:25).
We talked about the different conflicts that may or may not be resolved in relationships, but as it pertains to our prayer lives-and this is what we've been emphasizing over these last weeks-our prayer will not be effectual with unforgiveness in our hearts. He said in His model prayer, "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" (Matthew 6:12). Amen? He asked in that model prayer, "Lord, teach us to pray;" and He said, "Okay, if you want to be an effectual prayer, you need to have a heart of forgiveness; because in any community like this we're going to have conflicts aren't we?" In the little communities of our homes, we're going to have conflicts; so we need to truly pray for one another, to bear one another's burdens. We spoke toward that in numerous ways and hopefully you were encouraged to pray for them who are transgressing, that their sins could be forgiven. Isn't that what 1 John says? The Scripture says that when we see a brother in our midst sin, and it's not a sin unto death, we're to pray for them, to be compassionate, and to bear the burden with them...
